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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Spicy Black Bean Orzo Soup

"Spicy Black Bean Orzo Soup" (page 160) is a puréed mixture of black beans, sundried tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, chili powder and oregano which is ladled over pre-cooked orzo is.A sprinkle of cilantro is added to each bowl for a little color and extra flavor.Depending on how spicy you like your food, you could increase or decrease the amount of jalapeno pepper; I found one whole pepper to be perfect for a nice warm glow.The slight texture of the orzo offsets the creaminess of the puréed soup, making for a nice contrast.Once I realized everything was going to be put into the blender after cooking briefly on the stove, I didn't bother chopping up the sundried tomatoes, and only broke the pepper into a couple of pieces.I did not sauté the garlic ahead of time; rather I threw the whole cloves into the blender when it was time to whip it all together.This allowed for a stronger garlic flavor, which I prefer.To keep this McDougall friendly, use the non-oiled sundried tomatoes (the recipe calls for the oil cured variety), and don't sauté the garlic in oil.If you can, use whole wheat orzo as well (that might be a little hard to find).